However, you also need to understand how the game works, which is why in this blog post we’re going to show you everything you need to know about Miniclip’s 8 Ball Pool.

If you’re ready to start your journey to becoming the best in the game, an 8 Ball Pool VIP, then we can get started. Let’s go!

Playing matches and entering tournaments

To get started on your Pool career, you need to start playing Pool! There are two different types of game you can play: 1-on-1 matches, where you can play against another player, and tournaments, where you play in a knockout competition against 7 other players.

To play a 1-on-1 match, you just need to click the “Play” button. This takes you to a screen where you can choose which of the eight venues you want to play in. You’ll find you need to unlock some of the locations and you’ll need Pool Coins to enter, but we’ll explain those in more detail later.

Moscow is one of the locations you can play 1-on-1 matches and tournaments.

If you’re after more of a challenge than a 1-on-1 match, then you can enter a tournament. From the main screen, click on the “Tournaments” button. Here you’ll see the same locations, but you’ll be playing against more players.

As with the 1-on-1 matches, you’ll need to unlock the different locations and you’ll need Pool Coins to enter, but we’ll explain Pool Coins and levels shortly.

Pool Coins & Pool Cash

As we’ve mentioned, 8 Ball Pool has its own currency, Pool Coins & Pool Cash. You’ll need Pool Coins to enter 1-on-1 matches and tournaments, and you can also use them to purchase new cues and tables for your game from the Pool Shop. Some items are only available for Pool Cash, which you can earn either by purchasing or by levelling up in the game.

You can earn Pool Coins in a variety of ways:

30 minute timer: you can earn 25 free Pool Coins every 30 minutes by just clicking the button on the main screen. There’s no limit to how many times you can claim these coins.

Winning 1-on-1 matches and tournaments. The highest ranked tournament, Moscow Winter Club, has a prize pot of 30,000 Pool Coins! Play higher level 1-on-1 matches and tournaments for the chance to win bigger prize pots. Winning tournaments also awards you a bonus cue.

Purchasing Pool Coins: to get more Pool Coins, purchase them from the Pool Shop. You can also trade in your Pool Cash for Pool Coins. Important note: you cannot exchange Cash for Coins.

The table below shows you how many Pool Coins are needed to enter each 1-on-1 match and tournament, at each location, as well as how many Pool Coins you can win.

Location

Entry Fee (Pool Coins)

Prize (Pool Coins)

1-on-1 matches

London: 1-on-1

25

50

Sydney: 1-on-1

100

200

Moscow: 1-on-1

500

1,000

Tokyo: 1-on-1

2,500

5,000

Las Vegas: 1-on-1

10,000

20,000

Jakarta: 1-on-1

50,000

100,000

Toronto: 1-on-1

100,000

200,000

Cairo: 1-on-1

250,000

500,000

Dubai: 1-on-1

500,000

1,000,000

Tournaments

London: tournament

200

1,000

Sydney: tournament

3,000

18,000

Moscow: tournament

5,000

30,000

Tokyo: tournament

10,000

60,000

Experience points, levels and ranks

In 8 Ball Pool we use three ways to rank players: experience points, levels and ranks. Here’s some detail on how those are calculated:

Experience points (XP): you earn XP for every match you play both 1-on-1 and in Tournaments. You earn XP whether you win or lose, but winning earns you more XP than losing. You also earn more XP for winning a high-ranking tournament than a low-ranking one.

Level: your level is determined by the number of XP you have and is the number shown in the star in the top left of the screen. Levels go from 1 to 150, with 150 being the highest possible.

Rank: your level determines your rank; you’ll need the following levels to achieve the following ranks:

Rank

Level Required

Trainee

1 – 2

Beginner

3 – 5

Student

6 – 9

Amateur

10 – 14

Skilled

15 – 20

Semi-Pro

21 – 27

Professional

28 – 35

Virtuoso

36 – 44

Expert

45 – 54

Veteran

55 – 65

Master

66 – 77

GrandMaster

78 – 90

VIP

91 – 100

Play to find out 🙂

100+

View your stats by clicking on your profile image.

You can view all your Pool stats: your XP, level and rank, as well as some other statistics about your playing, including the number of games you’ve played and won by clicking on your profile image in the top left corner if you’re on one of the menu screens.

If you’re in a game, you can click on either your or your opponent’s profile images to bring up your or their stats whilst playing to find out about your opponent!

Spin & Win

Each day you play 8 Ball Pool, you’ll be awarded with one free spin on the “Spin & Win”. Spin & Win is a minigame which offers players the chance to win up to 50,000 Pool Coins and an exclusive cue.

Get lucky in the Spin & Win!

The Spin & Win will load automatically when you first play Pool each day, and can also be accessed from Pool’s main menu.

There’s a percentage chance of winning each prize, and the high-value items have lower chances of being won than the low-value items. Tens of thousands of the top prizes are given out daily, so you just need to get lucky!

A free spin is awarded every day, and extra spins can be purchased from the Pool Shop.

Scratch & Win

Scratch & Win is a scratch card mini-game. Scratch off squares on the card and match three squares to win Pool Coins!

There’s a maximum prize of 250,000 Pool Coins. Like Spin & Win, there is a percentage chance of each prize, with the highest prizes being the rarest.

The new Scratch & Win mini-game

Scratchers can be won in the Spin & Win game or purchased in the app.

Using the Pool Shop

As you work your way through the levels in 8 Ball Pool and earn Pool Coins from playing 1-on-1 matches and tournaments, you might want to customise your game by purchasing new cues and tables.

You can do this by entering the Pool Shop, which is accessible from the main menu.

In the Pool Shop we’ve got over 100 cues available for you to purchase and use, with new ones added frequently. These range from the simple Classic Cue to the extravagant Millionaire Cue.

Purchasing a new cue gives you access to a new phrase!

Purchasing and using a new cue in a game not only gives you a visual edge over your opponent, but also gives you access to an extra unique phrase to use in the in-game chat! Just click on the “…” speech bubble icon on your profile picture whilst playing to drop-down the list of phrases you can use to communicate with your opponent.

As well as new cues in the Pool Shop, you can also purchase designs for your table, with frames, cloths and patterns available.

Challenging your friends

Playing Pool on a real-life table is a social experience, and it’s the same social experience playing Pool on Miniclip.

If you’re playing on Miniclip.com, you can click the “Play Friends” button to search for players who are online using their usernames, and then challenge them to a game.

Challenge any of your Facebook friends with one click!

If you’re playing Pool on Facebook, you can challenge your Facebook friends using the buttons along the bottom of the main menu. The game will automatically find all your friends who play Pool on Facebook, and to challenge any of them, just scroll along until you find them and click “Challenge”.

If you want to play with any friends on Facebook who don’t play Pool already, just click “Add” and you can search through all your friends and challenge them to a game.

Go mobile!

8 Ball Pool is available on iOS and Android, allowing players to take 8 Ball Pool on the move! And best of all, it’s completelyfree on all platforms.

This means you can connect with the same account you use on either Miniclip.com or Facebook and once you’re logged in you’ll have all of the Pool Coins you’ve earned and all of the cues you’ve purchased instantly available.

You can download 8 Ball Pool on mobile by going to PoolByMiniclip.com on your iOS or Android device, or by using the links below:

I’m afraid you can’t change cues whilst playing a game, but you can change them between games!

Edit – apologies, as others have pointed out (thank you!), you can in fact change your cue during a game; just click on the shop icon in the bottom left whilst you’re playing and change your cue as normal. You can only do this whilst your opponent is playing 🙂

Hey Matt, it sounds like you’re playing from your Miniclip account – your account name is fixed and your picture can’t be changed from your yo-me, I’m afraid! The players with pictures as their profiles are playing from Facebook, so if you really want to change your nickname and profile pic, you could always sign in with Facebook, although that’s going to reset your stats.

You’re quite right; someone who is only level seven like me(!) is unlikely to have earned that many Coins by playing 1-on-1 matches or tournaments, but the option to purchase Pool Coins is available to everyone 🙂

Don’t worry; we’ll be adding the option to change Credits for Coins shortly! Credits can currently be used for powerups and some of the cues are only available for purchase using Credits, rather than Coins.

Hi, you may have ticked the box “Notify me of follow-up comments via email.” and this sends you any further comments via email. If you want to stop receiving emails, then please unsubscribe using the links in the email.

Apologies for the delay getting back to you, Mark. Pool Coins were added so that it’s possible to add in tournaments and 1-on-1 matches where you can win Coins, something we’d been asked to add frequently. It just adds an extra competitive edge to the game 🙂

Unfortunately the Miniclip Forum is currently unavailable, but some of the forum members have set up their own forum which you may wish to use until our forums are available again: http://wwwomf.myfanforum.org/

Why would I consider purchasing coins when the bonus coin feature obviously does not work as it should? I am fearful that any purchased coins would just follow the ‘phantom’ bonus coins into cyber oblivion. That you have have left my four previous comments unanswered and even unseen only goes to further my wariness about actually purchasing pool coins.

Apologies for the delay replying to your previous comments; comments need to be manually approved which creates a slight lag between comments being posted and comments showing up.

We are aware some players are experiencing problems when with the Daily Bonus and 30 minute timer and are working to fix this as soon as possible. However, I can assure you purchasing Coins is independent of this system and you shouldn’t experience any troubles using it. If you have any further queries, please contact our support team at support@miniclip.com.

Based upon Miniclip’s comments about the changes and the experience points, I posted the following on Google+, and now here:

It is my opinion that the tourneys should be re-evaluated for consistency and fairness. Currently, any level can enter any tournament (I am a level 32 and have had to face several level 65 and above players in the London tournament), which gives them the higher levels, an unfair advantage over others, for leveling purposes. A recommendation:

As novices, those below levels 36-50 should not have to compete in a tournament against those who are levels 30 or more above them This is how the real world works, and being forced to do so is dissuades novices from wanting to enter, or even play.

Glenard, I’m level 81, and after a bad run on Las Vegas tornies, ive found myself skint again. If I were to be banned from lower tornies there would be no way of building my money back up again. secondly I have found the levels at around Sidney Challenging with level 30- 40 playersplaying at a good level with better stats than many ranked above them.

Because you have a certain number of experience points doesnt mean you are good or bad, Ive beat plenty of grandmasters and got beaten by people with very low ranks so those rules SHOULD NOT apply to tournaments. Tournaments in most sports in USA put the lowest ranked against the highest ranked in the first round. I.E.: #1 vs #8, #2 vs. #7, #3 vs. #6…so on

I always see people asking to be “Challenged ” in the 8Ball Pool Chat. How do we do that ? I only see where we can add friends or go to their Player Page to Challenge them @ other games like “Quick Fire 8 or 9 Ball .

Today in last 24 hours i have some issues. My username Miniclip is “INDIANEXPERT” and i have some issues with 8 ball pool game. While playing i lost some games and my pool points ended to 3. I think pool points 3 is odd number which i dont think exist. am not sure. plz clarify on that.

Next every 30 minutes when i claim 25 pool points they are NOT adding to 3 points every time after 30min even when i claim those 25 points.

Please do corrections so that every 30min online i can add 25 points and Next i cannot see adding 250 BONUS points

So i want answers for my 3 qs

1. What is this 3 pool points. Do they exist like that?
2. I cannot see adding 25 points after every 30min even though when i claiming them. I can visualize they are adding but not showing in pool points. why?
3. I cannot see 250 bonus points since more than 24 hours time

I’m very sorry about the problems you’ve been having playing Pool! I’ve passed your feedback onto the developers who are taking a look at the problems. Just one question – since you left this comment, have these problems corrected themselves, or are the problems persisting?

i have had these problems also…I can see the add 25 coins but sometimes it doesnt add to my total. Other troubles i am having are that i lose connection many times when i am knocking in the eight ball and no other times, I have lost over 100,000 pool coins in this way. It only happens when i am winning the game. I have also beaten grandmaster and people three levels above me but it does not show on my accomplishments…How can i fix this?? i have asked this question before and still dont see it addressed here?!?!? 🙂 Thanks for this game. It is very addictive 😛

I am repeatedly losing the connection with the game and losing pool coins. I have access to VERY good and fast internet connection. I asked for help in support, they said it has been solved; and just now I lose 500 points! Do something! Please!

hi, how does the ball spin, i mean people aim at something and the direction of the cue ball moves after hitting at the aimed ball..even though im master in rankings, im unable 2 do it..please guide me through..thank u in advance..

sorry my language, I use google translate …..:D
On the PC I can not open the pool shop, always loading. as well as play again with the enemy, even though I have enough coins but still not able to play again. please help .. thank you

love the new changes, i just have 2 issues… after a “scratch” (when you pot the white ball), u should HAVE to shoot from BEHIND the white break line, like in “real pool”. it would make the game more competitive, its TOO easy as is.. also, my timer is not consistant, some shots i only get about 7-8 seconds.. (and i dont mean on the black).. thx for listening 🙂

Alex, the 25 coin problem still exists in fact many {many starters} gamers have left the game cause they don’t get the 250 bonus neither the 25 coins per 30 min , so they don’t get the coins to play daily and eventually they leave…….

We are still aware of this issue and whilst fewer players will be experiencing this bug, we’re very sorry about the players who still do! The developers let me know this morning they think they’ve identified what may have been causing the problem and they’re working on a fix for it.

I am repeatedly losing the connection with the game and losing pool coins. I have access to VERY good and fast internet connection I lose more the 5000 points or credits for this problem. please help me.

Are there any plans to(or are there already?) any other pool games by Miniclip, or, if not by Miniclip, maybe a site that you can recommend, that has as close to your graphics and Miniclip’s user-friendliness?

I think the game is great and I’m truly hooked already. Just as an idea how about some leader boards for the pool that would be an awesome addition? You know the sort of thing – Most coins earned, most balls potted and so on… it would nice to have some additional targets for all to aim for as for me personally I have already got all the best kit the game has to offer and 45/52 trophies so far but these will be completed soon enough. With some leader boards you’ll always have somebody you can chase unless of course ultimately you are the “best in the world”

even though I’ve been playing this game for a while now I never can figure out how to Pick the cue ball up and move it to a different spot on the table after an opponent has scratched and it says you have ball in hand? Can someone tell me how that works?

A suggestion regarding the player stats popup – would it be possible to make the bottom right hand side [Latest Achievements] section editable to pick and choose the awards to be displayed here? Guessing most players would want to flaunt their various Tournament Trophies here 🙂